This application claims priority to the Australian application PR3011 filed Feb. 9, 2001 entitled xe2x80x9cGAMING MACHINE WITH MYSTERY NUDGE SYMBOLxe2x80x9d.
This invention relates to a gaming machine. More particularly, the invention relates to a gaming machine and to an improvement to a game played on such a gaming machine.
Players who regularly play gaming machines quickly tire of particular games and therefore it is necessary for manufacturers of these machines to develop innovative game features which add interest to the games. In so doing, it is hoped to keep players amused and therefore willing to continue playing the game as well as to attract new players.
Also, with the growth that has occurred in the gaming machine market, there is intense competition between manufacturers to supply various existing and new venues. When selecting a supplier of gaming machines, the operator of a venue will often pay close attention to the popularity of various games with their patrons. Therefore, gaming machine manufacturers are keen to devise games which are popular with the players as a mechanism for improving sales, retaining customers and attracting new customers.
According to the invention, there is provided a gaming machine having a display means and a game control means arranged to control images displayed on the display means, the game control means being arranged to play a game wherein at least one random event is caused to be displayed on the display means and, if a predefined winning event occurs, the machine awards a prize, the gaming machine being characterized in that the display means displays a spinning reel game, each reel of which carries a plurality of symbols, at least one of which is a mystery symbol, the identity of which, at least initially, is hidden and further being characterized in that, when said at least one mystery symbol appears on the display means in a predetermined position, it is caused, by the control means and subject to predetermined conditions, to move to a different position whereafter the identity of the mystery symbol is revealed to be another symbol which is a symbol of a set of symbols of the game.
The at least one mystery symbol may, initially, be covered by a mystery-signifying representation such as a question mark representation or a representation of a pair of binoculars. Once the at least one mystery symbol has been moved, or nudged, to said different position, the mystery-signifying representation may be removed to reveal the other symbol.
Instead, once the at least one mystery symbol has been moved, or nudged, to its final position, the at least one mystery symbol may be transformed into the other symbol. The transformation from the at least one mystery symbol to the other symbol may be effected by the at least one mystery symbol simply being replaced by the other symbol. Instead, the transformation may be by means of an animation sequence from the at least one mystery symbol to said other symbol.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, in a spinning reel-type game, there are paylines on which, if a prize-winning combination of symbols appears when the reels stop spinning and the payline is active, a prize is awarded. An xe2x80x9cactivexe2x80x9d payline is one on which a player has made a wager. Each reel has a reel strip associated with it with each position on the reel strip being mapped to a predetermined position on its associated reel, at least one position on the reel strip being designated as a mystery symbol position.
The other symbol from the set of symbols of the game at the, or each, designated position may be predetermined. Instead, the at least one mystery symbol may, initially, be unidentified in the sense of not having any symbol from the set of symbols associated with it and only when the mystery symbol reaches its rest position is it converted by the control means into one of the other symbols.
The other symbol may be selected from one of (a) the entire set of symbols that is available on the reel strips and (b) a subset of the symbols. The subset of symbols is a set of special symbols such as, for example, a wild symbol, a scatter symbol, a top-paying symbol, a feature trigger symbol, or the like.
A prize may be paid for any prize-winning combination of symbols both before and after the at least one mystery symbol has been moved, or nudged, to its final position. Instead, the predetermined conditions may govern that the at least one mystery symbol moves, or is nudged, on to an active payline adjacent which the at least one mystery symbol is initially positioned only if it improves the prize applicable resulting from that combination of symbols which includes the other symbol revealed from the at least one mystery symbol. Still further, an initial prize may be paid and a further prize may be paid after the at least one mystery symbol has been moved and the other symbol revealed only if, as result of the move, the further prize is larger. Yet further, if an initial prize is payable before the at least one mystery symbol has been moved and the other symbol revealed and a further prize is payable after the at least one mystery symbol has been moved and the other symbol revealed, only the higher of the two prizes may be paid.
The predetermined conditions may further govern that, if the mystery symbol appears initially on an active payline of the game, no movement of the mystery symbol occurs.